Development of low-coherence high-power laser drivers for inertial confinement fusion

The use of low-coherence light is expected to be one of the effective ways to suppress or even eliminate the laser–plasma instabilities that arise in attempts to achieve inertial confinement fusion.In this paper,a review of low-coherence high-power laser drivers and related key techniques is first presented.Work at typical low-coherence laser facilities,including Gekko XII,PHEBUS,Pharos III,and Kanal-2 is described.The many key techniques that are used in the research and development of low-coherence laser drivers are described and analyzed,including low-coherence source generation,amplification,harmonic conversion,and beam smoothing of low-coherence light.Then,recent progress achieved by our group in research on a broadband low-coherence laser driver is presented.During the development of our low-coherence high-power laser facility,we have proposed and implemented many key techniques for working with low-coherence light,including source generation,efficient amplification and propagation,harmonic conversion,beam smoothing,and precise beam control.Based on a series of technological breakthroughs,a kilojoule low-coherence laser driver named Kunwu with a coherence time of only 300 fs has been built,and the first round of physical experiments has been completed.This high-power laser facility provides not only a demonstration and verification platform for key techniques and system integration of a low-coherence laser driver,but also a new type of experimental platform for research into,for example,high-energy-density physics and,in particular,laser–plasma interactions.

Hundred-Joule-level,nanosecond-pulse Nd:glass laser system with high spatiotemporal beam quality

A 100-J-level Nd:glass laser system in nanosecond-scale pulse width has been constructed to perform as a standard source of high-fluence-laser science experiments. The laser system, operating with typical pulse durations of 3–5 ns and beam diameter 60 mm, employs a sequence of successive rod amplifiers to achieve 100-J-level energy at 1053 nm at3 ns. The frequency conversion can provide energy of 50-J level at 351 nm. In addition to the high stability of the energy output, the most valuable of the laser system is the high spatiotemporal beam quality of the output, which contains the uniform square pulse waveform, the uniform flat-top spatial fluence distribution and the uniform flat-top wavefront.

Drug-peptide supramolecular hydrogel boosting transcorneal permeability and pharmacological activity via ligand-receptor interaction

Boosting transcorneal permeability and pharmacological activity of drug poses a great challenge in the field of ocular drug delivery.In the present study,we propose a drug-peptide supramolecular hydrogel based on anti-inflammatory drug,dexamethasone(Dex),and Arg-Gly-Asp(RGD)motif for boosting transcorneal permeability and pharmacological activity via the ligand-receptor interaction.The drug-peptide(Dex-SA-RGD/RGE)supramolecular hydrogel comprised of uniform nanotube architecture formed spontaneously in phosphate buffered saline(PBS,pH=7.4)without external stimuli.Upon storage at 4℃,25℃,and 37℃ for 70 days,Dex-SA-RGD in hydrogel did not undergo significant hydrolysis,suggesting great long-term stability.In comparison to Dex-SA-RGE,Dex-SA-RGD exhibited a more potent in vitro anti-inflammatory efficacy in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages via the inhibition of nuclear factorкB(NF-κB)signal pathway.More importantly,using drug-peptide supramolecular hydrogel labeled with 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole(NBD),the Dex-SA-K(NBD)RGD showed increased performance in terms of integrin targeting and cellular uptake compared to Dex-SA-K(NBD)RGE,as revealed by cellular uptake assay.On topical instillation in rabbit’s eye,the proposed Dex-SA-K(NBD)RGD could effectively enhance the transcorneal distribution and permeability with respect to the Dex-SA-K(NBD)RGE.Overall,our findings demonstrate the performance of the ligand-receptor interaction for boosting transcorneal permeability and pharmacological activity of drug.